Fishers of Men

-internet photo, King Fisher 

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Matthew 4:17-25

Jesus makes Fishers of Men

"..Jesus began to preach and say,

 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.

And He *said to them, 

“Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 

Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.

Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them.

Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.

The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them.

Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan."...

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You too can be a fisher of men!

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The Lord sustains all who fall and raises up all who are bowed down.

Psalm 145 

I will extol You, my God, O King,


And I will bless Your name forever and ever.

Every day I will bless You,


And I will praise Your name forever and ever.

 

Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised,


And His greatness is unsearchable.

One generation shall praise Your works to another,


And shall declare Your mighty acts.

On the glorious splendor of Your majesty


And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.

Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts,


And I will tell of Your greatness.

They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness


And will shout joyfully of Your righteousness.

The Lord is gracious and merciful;


Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.

The Lord is good to all,


And His mercies are over all His works.

All Your works shall give thanks to You, 

O Lord,
And Your godly ones shall bless You.

They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom


And talk of Your power;

To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts


And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom.

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,


And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.

 

The Lord sustains all who fall


And raises up all who are bowed down.

The eyes of all look to You,


And You give them their food in due time.

You open Your hand


And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

The Lord is righteous in all His ways


And kind in all His deeds.

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,


To all who call upon Him in truth.

He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;


He will also hear their cry and will save them.

The Lord keeps all who love Him,


But all the wicked He will destroy.

 

My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,


And all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.

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Protection From Sin

-Scotland FB

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 Proverbs 3

My son, do not forget my teaching,


But let your heart keep my commandments;

For length of days and years of life


And peace they will add to you.

Do not let kindness and truth leave you;


Bind them around your neck,


Write them on the tablet of your heart.

So you will find favor and good repute


In the sight of God and man.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart


And do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him,


And He will make your paths straight.

 

Do not be wise in your own eyes;


Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.

It will be healing to your body


And refreshment to your bones.

Honor the Lord from your wealth


And from the first of all your produce;

 

So your barns will be filled with plenty


And your vats will overflow with new wine.

 

My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord


Or loathe His reproof,

For whom the Lord loves He reproves,


Even as a father corrects the son 

in whom he delights.

 

How blessed is the man who finds wisdom


And the man who gains understanding.

For her profit is better than the profit of silver


And her gain better than fine gold.

 

She is more precious than jewels;


And nothing you desire compares with her.

Long life is in her right hand;


In her left hand are riches and honor.

Her ways are pleasant ways


And all her paths are peace.

 

She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her,


And happy are all who hold her fast.

The Lord by wisdom founded the earth,


By understanding He established the heavens.

By His knowledge the deeps were broken up


And the skies drip with dew.

My son, let them not vanish from your sight;


Keep sound wisdom and discretion,

So they will be life to your soul


And adornment to your neck.

Then you will walk in your way securely


And your foot will not stumble.

When you lie down, you will not be afraid;


When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

Do not be afraid of sudden fear


Nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes;

For the Lord will be your confidence


And will keep your foot from being caught.

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,


When it is in your power to do it.

Do not say to your neighbor, 

“Go, and come back,


And tomorrow I will give it,”


When you have it with you.

Do not devise harm against your neighbor,


While he lives securely beside you.

 

Do not contend with a man without cause,


If he has done you no harm.

Do not envy a man of violence


And do not choose any of his ways.

For the devious are an abomination to the Lord;


But He is intimate with the upright.

The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked,


But He blesses the dwelling of the righteous.

Though He scoffs at the scoffers,


Yet He gives grace to the afflicted.

 

The wise will inherit honor,


But fools display dishonor.

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Terrifying Storm Clouds

What do you do when you see a terribly dangerous "storm" arising around certain people, but your adult child is able to make his own decisions?

You can "see" all of "this" will turn out in an awful way, but your adult child says he can handle it.

He thinks he will handle it. 

He is an adult and he is in charge of himself, but it turns out that "they" know exactly how to control others...and so, in reality, he can't handle it. 

Thus begins your precious child's life caught in a "web" of control that you can not solve. 

The LORD will solve it His Way

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What do you do?

Pray for your child! 

For the rest of your life, pray for this child!

Rest in the LORD as you pray for this child!

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Unjust Suffering

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Proverbs 3:3-5

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

And do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He will make your paths straight.

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Stop playing with your fruit and eat it!

sent in an email

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Don't Talk About Spiders!

 

Preserve Your Life! Do Not Consent!

 Proverbs 1:7-19

..."The fear of the Lord is the beginning 

of knowledge;


Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Hear, my son, your father’s instruction


And do not forsake your mother’s teaching;


Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head

And ornaments about your neck.


My son, if sinners entice you,


Do not consent.


If they say, “Come with us,


Let us lie in wait for blood,


Let us ambush the innocent without cause;


Let us swallow them alive like Sheol,


Even whole, as those who go down to the pit;


We will find all kinds of precious wealth,


We will fill our houses with spoil;


Throw in your lot with us,


We shall all have one purse,”


My son, do not walk in the way with them.


Keep your feet from their path,


For their feet run to evil


And they hasten to shed blood.


Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net


In the sight of any bird;


But they lie in wait for their own blood;


They ambush their own lives.


So are the ways of everyone 

who gains by violence;


It takes away the life of its possessors."...

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I Remember Your Name, LORD, in the Night

Psalm 119:49-56

"Remember the word to Your servant,

In which You have made me hope.

This is my comfort in my affliction,

That Your word has revived me.

The arrogant utterly deride me,

Yet I do not turn aside from Your law.

I have remembered Your ordinances from of old, 

O Lord,

And comfort myself.

Burning indignation has seized me 

because of the wicked,

Who forsake Your law.

Your statutes are my songs

In the house of my pilgrimage.

O Lord, 

I remember Your name in the night,

And keep Your law.

This has become mine,

That I observe Your precepts."

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Children of God: You are the Apple of His Eye

Psalm 17:6-8

I have called upon You, 

for You will answer me, 

O God;

Incline Your ear to me, 

hear my speech.

Wondrously show Your lovingkindness,

O Savior of those who take

refuge at Your right hand

From those who rise up against them.

Keep me as the apple of the eye;

Hide me in the shadow of Your wings

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Proverbs 7:1-5

My son, keep my words

And treasure my commandments within you.

Keep my commandments and live,

And my teaching as the apple of your eye.

Bind them on your fingers;

Write them on the tablet of your heart.

 

Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”

And call understanding your intimate friend;

 

That they may keep you from an adulteress,

From the foreigner who flatters with her words.

Zechariah 2:6-10

“Ho there! 

Flee from the land of the north,” 

declares the Lord,

 “for I have dispersed you as the four winds 

of the heavens,” 

declares the Lord.

“Ho, Zion! Escape, 

you who are living with the daughter of Babylon.” 

For thus says the Lord of hosts, 

“After glory He has sent me against the nations 

which plunder you,

for he who touches you, 

touches the apple of His eye.

For behold, I will wave My hand over them 

so that they will be plunder for their slaves. 

Then you will know that the Lord of hosts 

has sent Me.

Sing for joy and be glad, 

O daughter of Zion; 

for behold I am coming and 

I will dwell in your midst,” 

declares the Lord. "

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 *The phrase "the apple of one's eye" refers to a vulnerable spot that is protected and cherished. 

For example, God held the Israelites as the apple of His eye, even though they were rebellious.

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See the Goodness of the LORD!

 -Scotland FB

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Psalm 27

"The Lord is my light and my salvation;


Whom shall I fear?


The Lord is the defense of my life;


Whom shall I dread?


When evildoers came upon me 

to devour my flesh,


My adversaries and my enemies, 

they stumbled and fell.

Though a host encamp against me,


My heart will not fear;


Though war arise against me,


In spite of this I shall be confident.

One thing I have asked from the Lord, 

that I shall seek:


That I may dwell in the house of the Lord 

all the days of my life,


To behold the beauty of the Lord


And to meditate in His temple.


For in the day of trouble 

He will conceal me in His tabernacle;


In the secret place of His tent 

He will hide me;


He will lift me up on a rock.


And now my head will be lifted up 

above my enemies around me,


And I will offer in His tent sacrifices 

with shouts of joy;


I will sing, yes, 

I will sing praises to the Lord.

Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice,


And be gracious to me and answer me.


When You said, “Seek My face,” 

my heart said to You,


“Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.”


Do not hide Your face from me,


Do not turn Your servant away in anger;


You have been my help;


Do not abandon me nor forsake me,


O God of my salvation!

For my father and my mother 

have forsaken me,


But the Lord will take me up.

Teach me Your way, O Lord,


And lead me in a level path


Because of my foes.


Do not deliver me over 

to the desire of my adversaries,


For false witnesses have risen against me,


And such as breathe out violence.


I would have despaired unless I had 

believed that I would 

see the goodness of the Lord


In the land of the living.


Wait for the Lord;


Be strong and let 

your heart take courage;


Yes, wait for the Lord."

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Gentle ladies...never give up! 

Instead give all of you unto the LORD!

Live for Him and in Him, cry out to Him!

He hears your cries, knows your sorrows,

and He will carry you through all of your sadnesses until glory!

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Grief is Simply being Love in Disguise

-by Becky Hemsley 

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A Precious way to explain a reality.

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Isaiah 53:4-5

..."Surely our griefs He Himself bore,

And our sorrows He carried;

Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten of God, and afflicted.

But He was pierced through for our transgressions,

He was crushed for our iniquities;

The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,

And by His scourging we are healed."...

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Autumn is here, but no scarves as of yet

 

The LORD Holds those Who Trust in HIm

Two months is too little

They let him go, they had no sudden healing

To think that providence would

Take a child from his mother while she prays is appalling

Who told us we'd be rescued?

What has changed and why should we be saved from nightmares?

We're asking why this happens to us who have died to live

It's unfair

This is what it means to be held

How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life

And you survive

This is what it is to be loved

And to know that the promise was when everything fell

We'd be held

This hand is bitterness

We wanna taste it, let the hatred numb our sorrow

The wise hand opens slowly

To lilies of the valley and tomorrow

This is what it means to be held

How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life

And you survive

This is what it is to be loved

And to know that the promise was when everything fell

We'd be held

If hope is born of suffering

If this is only the beginning

Can we not wait for one hour

Watching for our Savior?

This is what it means to be held

How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life

And you survive

This is what it is to be loved

And to know that the promise was when everything fell

We'd be held

This is what it is to be loved

And to know that the promise was when everything fell

We'd be held

This is what it means to be held

-Held, written by Christa Nichole Wells

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Jeremiah 17:7-8

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord

And whose trust is the Lord.

“For he will be like a tree planted by the water,

That extends its roots by a stream

And will not fear when the heat comes;

But its leaves will be green,

And it will not be anxious in a year of drought

Nor cease to yield fruit.

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The LORD is our Bulwark!

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Psalm 48:12-13

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